Bumrah leads India to its biggest Test win on Australian soil
Perth (PTI): Jasprit Bumrah led a feisty bunch of Indian cricketers to their most dominant Test victory on Australian soil, winning by a massive 295 runs in a remarkable turnaround that will find a pride of place among the country's golden moments in international cricket.
The stand-in skipper led by example with a match-haul of 8/72 as India bowled out the hosts, who were in pursuit of a mammoth 534, for 238 in 58.4 overs on the fourth afternoon of the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy here.
The victory propelled India back to the top of the World Test Championship standings with 61.11 percentage points.
India's previous biggest winning margin in terms of runs was 222 during a 1978 game in Sydney when Australia played an under-strength side due to mass exodus for the Kerry Packer World Series.
India are now 1-0 up in the five-Test series with regular skipper Rohit Sharma ready to take over during the Day/Night game starting December 6 in Adelaide.
While Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will be among the heroes with their solid second innings batting performances, it was Bumrah's unbelievable skill-set and self belief during Australia's first innings rout that formed the cornerstone of India's win.
Not many teams have come back after being 150 all-out on the first day but this Indian team has time and again showed that it is built different.
Prior to the Test, Bumrah spoke about embracing challenges and he did walk the talk during all four days.
It was evident from the manner in which he allowed Mohammed Siraj (match haul of five wickets), debutants Harshit Rana (match haul of four wickets) and Nitish Reddy (41 and 37 not out and one wicket) bowl from the Member's End so that they can get extra help due to the ball keeping very low.
Washington Sundar (two wickets and 29 runs), who was preferred after the team management felt that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja with 850 plus Test wickets between them, would not be as effective on this track, also did his bit in mopping up the tail.
The victory will bear greater significance because of India's shocking 0-3 whitewash at home by New Zealand.
With three of their automatic first team selections in skipper Rohit, talented Shubman Gill and bowling artist Mohammed Shami ruled out due to different reasons, Bumrah, leading in only his second Test, was left with a lot to do and less options to work with.
Gabba 2021 evokes nostalgia for every Indian cricket fan but Perth 2024 will certainly be right up there considering that no one, save those eleven and the few others in that change room, could have believed that something like this is possible.
Often the job of deputies in cricket is an understated one but it is all about making it easy for the general in charge.
Rahul Dravid had tirelessly done that for Sourav Ganguly during their time and as Rohit Sharma checked-in, he would know that his deputy has at lest tried to remove the ton of pressure on his chest after the home series debacle.
Gambhir Moves
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Credit must also go to head coach Gautam Gambhir, who copped a lot of flak after the defeat to the Black Caps and it was widely believed that rookies Reddy and Harshit got Test caps on his insistence.
Gambhir, who seldom smiles, could afford a grin under the Perth Sun as the burly Harshit and the sinewy Nitish didn't deviate from the script handed to them for the better part of the game.
Nervous Aussies
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Starting the day at 12 for 3 in pursuit of 534, it was about how much time would it take for Australia to capitulate and they eventually did despite a counter-attacking 89 by Travis Head that only delayed the inevitable.
On the last two tours, India started the series at Adelaide, which is believed to have friendlier batting conditions but this time, Australia decided to make the first move putting India on the bounciest surface in the country.
The move only worked for a session and a half before it backfired completely. The Australians had factored in India's vulnerability but decided to punt on their own batting line-up which has been woefully short of runs.
Steve Smith, one of the modern day greats, and Marnus Labuschagne, who has always been obsessed about batting, have had their forms desert them for the longest time.
Then they inducted a rookie in Nathan McSweeney, who isn't particularly tested and also not an opener. It indicated that just like India, Australia will also face a transition, and it's case could be even worse.
Josh Hazlewood had thrown the towel on third evening itself and one shouldn't be surprised if the Australian team management plays on flatter batting decks in the coming matches in order to nullify Bumrah's threat.
But Bumrah is the sort of bowler can tighten the noose whenever he desires and irrespective of conditions.
On the fourth afternoon, he came back to dislodge Head, who was putting on a fight.
That was possibly the best of his eight wickets in the game. It was pitched on length and the compulsive driver that Head is, he didn't expect it to climb from length and it took the outside edge.
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SIT suspects more gold lost from Sabarimala than recovered so far
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Sabarimala gold loss case suspects that more gold was lost from the temple than what has been recovered so far from the prime accused.
The suspicion was stated in an application filed by the SIT before the Kollam Vigilance Court seeking custody of three accused — sponsor Unnikrishnan Potty, Smart Creations CEO Pankaj Bhandari and jeweller Govardhan Roddam.
In the petition, the SIT said copper plates clad with gold, with a total weight of 42.100 kg, were handed over to prime accused Potty for electroplating at Smart Creations in 2019.
After the plating process, the remaining gold was allegedly siphoned off by the accused.
According to the SIT, gold-clad copper plates, including those from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols, plates from two nearby pillars and seven plates from the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum), were removed and taken for replating.
The seven plates from the Sreekovil doorframes included two plates depicting the Dasavatar, two bearing rashi symbols, two plates on the upper portion of the doorframes, and one plate on the Prabha Mandalam above the doorframe, which had idols of Siva and Vyali sculpted on it, the application said.
In the custody application, the SIT said Bhandari confessed that around 109.243 grams of gold was taken by him as fees for replating.
On October 25, 2025, Bhandari produced 109.243 grams of gold before the SIT, claiming it was equivalent to what he had taken as fees in 2019.
The gold recovered during the plating process was handed over to Govardhan, the SIT said.
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On October 24, 2025, Govardhan produced 474.960 grams of gold before the SIT, claiming it was equivalent to the quantity he received from Potty after electroplating.
However, the SIT said further investigation revealed that there was more gold in the gold-clad copper plates of the Dwarapalaka idols, pillars and Sreekovil doorframes than the quantity produced by Bhandari and Govardhan.
The SIT said the report of scientific analysis of samples of plated gold on copper plates sent to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, is awaited.
So far, the SIT has arrested 10 people, including two former presidents of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) who were associated with the CPI(M). The SIT, appointed by the Kerala High Court, has been given a deadline to complete the investigation by this month.
Meanwhile, a political row erupted after reports emerged about the SIT’s reported move to interrogate UDF convenor Adoor Prakash.
The reports claimed that Prakash would be questioned following the emergence of a recent photograph of Potty standing with Sonia Gandhi.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan on Thursday said the High Court should re-examine the decision to appoint two new officers to the SIT, alleging that the appointments were made with the knowledge of two senior IPS officers and a senior Crime Branch official who is a staunch CPI(M) supporter.
“These officers were appointed to leak information from the SIT. Hardcore CPI(M)-leaning officials are acting under pressure from the Chief Minister’s Office,” he alleged, adding that the court-appointed SIT was not being allowed to function independently.
Satheesan said information about Prakash being interrogated was leaked, while the questioning of CPI(M) leader Kadakampally Surendran last week was kept secret.
He said Prakash would cooperate if the police called him for evidence or statements, but alleged that attempts were being made to "balance" the case, as CPI(M) leaders were responsible for the "gold theft."
Similarly, Prakash said he came to know about the SIT’s plan to interrogate him through media reports.
He alleged that the Chief Minister’s political secretary P Sasi was behind the recent developments involving him.
“I am ready to appear before the SIT whenever required. I will request the presence of the media if they call me for interrogation. Otherwise, I will reveal all the details that I convey to the SIT,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s Office issued a statement refuting Prakash’s claims.
It said the SIT was constituted by the Kerala High Court and the probe is being conducted under the supervision of a Division Bench of the court, with a strict directive that investigation details should not be disclosed outside.
Neither the Chief Minister’s Office nor the political secretary has any role or involvement in the matter, the statement said, adding that the allegation made by the MP was completely baseless and false.
On the other hand, CPI(M) leaders alleged that Satheesan questioned the credibility of the SIT after learning that Prakash would be interrogated.
“It is unfortunate that Satheesan has changed his version and is now blaming the SIT when it is going to interrogate Prakash. They see that the Sabarimala gold issue is now coming towards them and are taking measures to prevent it,” CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said.
He said the people of Kerala know the truth and the LDF government has not protected any accused in the case.
“We continue to maintain that no one will be protected and those behind the loss of gold from Sabarimala will be punished. It is the UDF that is changing its stance,” he said.
